The field of the invention is electrical and electronic transmission equipment and the invention relates more particularly to the hardware for supporting conduits through which conductors are passed.
A common prior art type of clamp is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,486,726 and indicated as "prior art" in FIGS. 2 and 3 of that patent. Another commonly used system is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,721,412 where a pair of wire members are held over a conduit by bending one of the wire members back upon itself and surrounding the other wire member. Yet another system is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,463,428 which is quite similar to that shown in above-identified U.S. Pat. No. 3,486,726. The clamps of the type shown in the above-identified patents have a major drawback which is becoming more evident in modern office and industrial structures where the use of electronic equipment and additional electrical equipment has greatly increased the number of conduits which are held against the support channels. It is not uncommon for the channels to be in relatively inaccessible positions, close to a ceiling or wall, and it is often very difficult to hold a nut in one hand and a bolt in another to hold the two clamp members together. Similarly, it is often difficult to perform the bending step of the wire clamp of U.S. Pat. No. 3,721,412. Also, it is occasionally necessary to remove one of the conduits, and the same problem of finding space to insert a screwdriver or socket wrench, or to unbend the wire clamp, arises. There is, thus, a need for a clamp which may be readily inserted and removed in inaccessible places with one hand.